Installation view

The exhibition shows works by Jan Jedlicka executed between 1990 and 2004. They focus on the classical art historical genre of the landscape, approached by the artist through different media and processes. Jedlicka is an artist who works in a traditional way by engaging directly with the landscape. He orbits the situation, observing, measuring, tasting and smelling. Photography is an important tool for him to record a specific atmosphere. He incorporates the landscape to create his own pictorial translation.

Since 1979 Jedlicka returns regularly to the Maremma, a region in southern Tuscany which has a magical attraction for him. In an almost literal way the artist transfers the colours of the landscape into his work by crushing stones, leaves, mud and other objects in a mortar. He then mixes the resulting pigments with water and transfers the colours cautiously on to Japanese paper which he then mounts on canvas. Through the printing technique of mezzotinto, in which the artist carves light out of a dark ground, Jedlicka succeeds in capturing the specific light conditions of southern Tuscany. Pigment drawings, pencil notes with watercolour, a portfolio of etchings and photographic screenprints all show Jedlicka's ability with different techniques. For Jedlicka, technical variety is never an end in itself but allows him to approach his subject matter from different angles. The artist clusters the stations of his perception.

Jedlicka does not impose formal restrictions on himself but chooses the artistic process which allows him to capture best the atmosphere and subject matter. This is why in Jedlicka's œuvre the methodic approach replaces stylistic recognition
His art is not following the latest trend but requires engagement and perseverance.

Jan Jedlicka was born 1944 in Prague, he lives and works in Zurich

Etienne Lullin, Zürich, September 2004